you did in your career. what was it like to go through this experience? >> is been a tough week. nothing went our way. we struggled on the greens and you know, this morning, i felt a little change in that regard. we started to make it feel. the americans started to miss them and winning those few matches, that was key and you know, as you said, i've been under pressure hitting shots, but today tops that. >> congratulations. dan, the winning european ryder cup captain. >> europe went 0 for 13 on american soil. this is europe's fourth win in the last seven matches. its largest singles win in the united states. an amazing performance by europe, which retains the cup. if you missed any of today's action, you can get caught up

today on golf channel. sunday night football is next. giants and eagles. football night in america live from philadelphia at 7:00 eastern time. so long from medinah, amazing comeback by europe. - [ background chatter ] - ♪ [ harp notes ]

- i see a little silhouetto of a man. - scaramouche. scaramouche. will you do the fandango? oh. thunderbolt and lightning-- very, very frightening me. - galileo. - galileo. - galileo? - figaro. easy come, easy go. will you let me go? - bismillah, no. - [ together ] we will not let you go. - let me go. - we will not let you go! [ high operatic voice ] ♪ let me go ♪ [ rock ]

. on this sunday night, from afghanistan, at the brink. another u.s. service member killed by the afghan forces they're training, as we begin our special coverage of a region in turmoil. tonight richard engel with the latest from afghanistan. plus we're on patrol with the third infantry division and ann curry on the ground in syria after a massive attack there. the face-off back at home just three days before the first presidential debate. tonight inside the obama and romney debate camps. how the candidates are preparing for the showdown. making the case. the supreme court begins. and carmageddo 2.

what happened this weekend when one of the busiest highways in the countries was shut down. how did california cope with its freeway car free? good evening from the joint command headquarters of the international security assistance force in kabul. we have been traveling through this country all week trying to take measure of this war, another insider attack has left a u.s. soldier and an american civilian dead. that brings the death toll to 2,118. so far this year, 267 have been killed. 31 of those killed at the hands of afghan police and military

members. insider attacks. tonight against the backdrop of next month's presidential election, we're beginning a special look at a region at the brink and the foreign policy challenges that america is facing here in syria and afghanistan. richard engel, you have more on that attack today? >> reporter: cooperation between u.s. and afghan forces is the mission now. it is the american exit strategy. but this recent spate of insider attacks seems to show that the exit strategy isn't working. even the scene of the aftermath isn't encouraging. after gang security forces investigating themselves, a training mission where who's in charge, who can be trusted is now unclear. last night an afghan soldier known here as a & a walked up

into a group of an unsuspecting group and opened fire. >> in an ensuing exchange of fire, three a & a personnel are reported to have died. we deeply regret the loss of life in this tragic incident. >> reporter: tragic certainly but some commanders have suggested it's cultural misunderstanding. it's the 57 death like this this year. the commanding general here spoke with lester about it. >> we're going to work as hard as we possibly can around the clock to understand the problem and i think we have a good grip on it now and to work closely with our afghan partners to eliminate this threat. >> reporter: but it's hard to defend against an attack from within. the u.s. mission now is to closely partner with afghan forces. lieutenant phillips is in close contact with afghans every day, training them and providing

weapons on air support. >> how do you know you can trust the afghans you're working with? >> you don't know. that's why we make friends with them as best as we can, with all the other afghan units that we go to. but you don't know whether they're with us or they've got an ulterior mottive. >> reporter: when he meets with his counterparts, it's without his flack jacket and helmet, to show trust. but trust with backup, isn't real trust. there's supposed to be two more years of this, but if the insider attacks continue, it's hard to see how that's possible. u.s. troops say they understand the risks of war and that they're willing to take these risks, but not to be shot in the back by their allies. allies we're paiding to train. now another country at the brink, syria where the war there

has killed tens of thousands of people in the last year and a half. this weekend a major new battle began between the government and rebel forces in a key city. nbc's ann curry was inside syria this weekend and is along the border with turkey tonight. >> reporter: lester, good evening, the war in syria has taken a dramatic turn as rebels has launched a massive talk on multiple fronts. just 40 miles from the tur,ish border. this weekend as fighting raged a large part of the treasured marketplace, a world heritage site that dates back to the 14th century was burned to ashes. the army says if they can take the city, they will strike a critical blow to the regime in a war that has killed as many as 30,000 people so far.

our news team traveled inside syria this weekend and a rebel commander told us he is frustrated by the power of government warplanes. he told us if the world enforced a no fly zone or gave the free syrian anti-aircraft weapons, this war would be over in two days. many fear this war could become a wider conflict, as many as 700,000 refugees could flee syria by the end of this year. >> ann curry on the syrian boarder. and this was an especially deadly day in iraq, where 76 people were killed and almost 100 injured in a series of attacks. it was the latest effort attacks. the deadliest was just north of baghdad where three car bombs

exploded within minutes of each other. eight people died there, and 28 were injured. and there were more protests today about the anti-muslim film made in america. while in indonesia, thousands more protested in front of the u.s. embassy in jakarta. back in the u.s. just three days now until the first presidential debate with the candidate spending the next few days intensely preparing for wednesday's showdown. kristen welker is traveling with the president in las vegas. >> reporter: with four mock debates under his belt, the president will rally in nevada before jumping into the ring with his sparg partner mitt romney. president obama got another boost, leading governor romney by four points, 49% to 45%.

>> i want to see us export more jobs, export more products -- excuse me. i was -- i was channeling my opponent there for a second. >> reporter: last week romney hinting at his debate approach. >> he's trying to fool people into thinking that i think things i don't and that ends, i think, during the debate. >> reporter: for days both sides have been tamping down expectations, today on the sunday talk shows. >> he's prepared more than any candidate, maybe in history, certainly in recent memory. >> sometimes we expect a major break through, the comment, that doesn't happen very often. >> reporter: but on "meet the press," new jersey republican governor chris christie had a different take. >> come sunday morning, the entire race is going to change.

>> i think my biggest concern now would just be for the ---his mental well-being. i have all the confidence in the world in his ability, in his decisiveness, in his leadership skills. >> reporter: today paul ryan admitted to missteps, including the 47% comment. but at the end of the day, we're giving people a very clear choice. >> reporter: ryan was asked the specifics of the tax plan, both romney and ryan have yet to detail their tax cut. now romney is preparing for the debates in boston, massachusetts with senator rob portman standing in as president obama. he is working on sharpening his message. meanwhile obama campaign says that obama is working on shorter, crisper answers. before he gets started, he will

speak at this campaign event right here in las vegas. >> kristen welker tonight. we're joined by nbc's chief white house correspondent chuck todd, lay it out for us. how important are the debates in this particular election? >> at this point in time in the campaign, the stakes are enormous for mitt romney. he is behind, you can argue by how much he's behind, is it as bad as it looks in some polls in places like ohio or florida, but the bottom line is he's behind. he needs to come out basically not just even in the presidential, but it needs to serve as a way to fire up his republican troops, it's going to keep republican candidates from fleeing him, it's going to keep big money people from fleeing him. a decisive win by president obama will only add to the momentum at this crucial time when we have early voting and you'll see a whole bunch of

candidates running down the ballot running from mitt romney. >> chuck todd in our washington newsroom, thanks. tomorrow is the first monday in october, that mean tsz supreme court begins it's new term, the court expected to decide on cases involving affirmative action, specifically the role of race in college admissions as well as voting rights and same-sex marriage. when nbc nightly news continues on this sunday evening, life on the front lines with a famed u.s. army division. and carmageddon 2, what happened when they shut down the busine busiest freeway in america. wow that's...short. to learn more talk to your health care provider. [ female announcer ] fluzone intradermal vaccine is fda approved for 18-64 year olds. it shouldn't be given to anyone with a severe allergic reaction

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a pair of turkish army helecopters. welcome back. a recent end to the troops surge reduced the overall number of american troops here on the ground, even if some new faces have arrived. it's all part of a revolving door reminding us just how much we have asked of our men and women in kwuniform.

>> reporter: few army divisions that deploy into battle more than the third infantry division. this time it is volatile southern afghanistan where a patrol searches for insurgent weapons caches. >> we want to make a difference here for the first time. >> the third id is accustomed to those calls. for the past ten years, it's virtually been on the pentagon's speed dial. it led off the invasion of iraq, becoming the first to reach baghdad. >> the first american soldiers to cross into iraq. >> there were three more iraq deployments to follow and now afghanistan. when you went to iraq the first time, would you have ever imagined that in 2012, you would be sitting in afghanistan? >> i did not. >> joseph ayala was one of only

a handful of those soldiers remaining. he's been on all but one deployment since. >> the hardest about about being deployed is being away from them. not being able to see their soccer games. and my youngest won started preschool. >> back at ft. stewart in georgia, terry his become a single mom. >> this is our fourth deployment so it's kind of normal, i guess you could say. we go through our normal work, sports, school, only he's not here to share it with us. >> this servicemwith him deploy knowing that he could be hurt. >> as a division, the third id's deployment pace is remarkable,

but it's reality for the individual service members where multiple deployments have become the norm. with more tough days ahead in afghanistan, a country engaged in its longest war continues to ask so much of so much few. does it gets tiring having to face your wife, to face terry and say, guess what, i'm being deployed again? >> it definitely does. it definitely takes a toll on the family. we have our own family while we're here, we take care of each other. >> i'm proud of the things he does, i'm ecstatic to say my husband is in the military, you know, he serves his country. >> the good news is the length of deployments was recently shortened over here somewhat. the third id will be here for nine months as opposed to the previous year-long assignments. there's more to come on nbc

"nightly news," why you should look at the sky tonight, it just might send you over the moon.

some incredible images for last night, in case you missed them, a so-called harvest moon which is a moon that occurs closest to the autumnal equinox. a typhoon brought high winds

and rain to the country this weekend. take a look at this on the southern island of okinawa. wind gusts were reported up to 115 miles an hour. in los angeles, they called it carmageddon 2, part of the 405 freeway shut down for repairs. the project started yesterday and will be done by tomorrow's commute. if the contractors missed their deadline, they'll be fined $6,000 per lane for every ten minutes they're late. and tonight we notice the passing of a towering figure in american journalism. arthur solsberger. he decided to publish a secret

government history of the vietnam war known as "the pentagon papers" when nixon administration demanded h he stop publishing the article, the paper refused. he was 86 years old. we're back in a moment with some final thoughts from afghanistan. and every day since, we've worked hard to keep it. bp has paid over twenty-three billion dollars to help people and businesses who were affected, and to cover cleanup costs. today, the beaches and gulf are open for everyone to enjoy -- and many areas are reporting their best tourism seasons in years. we've shared what we've learned with governments and across the industry so we can all produce energy more safely. i want you to know, there's another commitment bp takes just as seriously: our commitment to america. bp supports nearly two-hundred-fifty thousand jobs in communities across the country. we hired three thousand people just last year.

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that's the power of german engineering. we're back with some final thoughts from here in afghanistan. we're here with atia who has covered the war for the past ten years. what's the sense, what do people here think of what's happening? >> you'll get different antses from different afghans. the ones in the cities who have seen the gain of the last 11 years, they see women in school, and women in the workforce. the afghans in the villages, that have seen the brunt of the fight, they're ready to see the war to end, but they're worried. they don't know if they need to turn their war to the taliban or to the afghan government. what we do see is an uneasiness among the afghans in the

province. >> that's nbc nightly news for this sunday, a reminder, our special coverage in this region. remember "at the brink" continues all week long. thanks for watching and good night.